Description
First edition of A Soldier’s Story by Omar N. Bradley, inscribed to fellow WWII commander and the founder of “The Green Berets,” Gen. William P. Yarborough.
Octavo, xix, [1], 618pp. Full green morocco, title in gilt over red morocco spine label, raised bands with gilt embellishments. All edges gilt, decorative gilt turn-ins. The first printing with the “First Edition” statement on copyright page. Illustrated endpapers with maps of the European theater. Bound by Kingsport Press of Tennessee.
The title page of this book was previously framed for display. It is noticeably darker than subsequent leaves, with two pieces of mounting tape remaining on the verso.
Signed on the title page: “For Colonel Wm. P. Yarborough / Whom I knew as a cadet and as an outstanding infantry commander. Omar N. Bradley.”
Lieutenant General William P. Yarborough (1912-2005) served with the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division during WWII, helping plan and execute key airborne assaults in Sicily, Salerno, Normandy, and the Netherlands. He designed the distinctive paratrooper uniform, jump boots, and parachutist badge that became enduring symbols of the airborne corps. After the war, Yarborough continued shaping U.S. special operations, most notably as commander of the U.S. Army Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg in the early 1960s, where he institutionalized the Green Berets as an elite counterinsurgency and unconventional warfare force under President Kennedy’s support.
General Omar Bradley (1893-1981) was a decorated army commander during World War II. He commanded the II Corps during the Allied invasion of Sicily, the First United States Army during the invasion of Normandy and ultimately the Twelfth Army Group, which comprised all members of the United States Army serving in Western Europe and stands as the largest United States Army formation in history. After WWII, he served as the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He became the last general to be promoted to the five-star rank of General of the Army.
